Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing stunned the Martial Arts Examination crowd by drawing the Ten Stone Bow, earning a Grade A Mid result and attracting offers from powerful local families. After he politely declined their recruitment attempts, Xu Fang brought him to meet her aunt, Xu Xiuhua.

• Chen Qing drew the Ten Stone Bow, and the clerk awarded him Grade A Mid as onlookers and academy leaders reacted with shock.
• Xu Xiuhua considered recruiting Chen Qing and asked Xu Fang whether she knew him.
• The first round ended, and the Zhu Family's Second Steward and other local forces offered Chen Qing money, pills, housing, and other incentives to serve them.
• Chen Qing declined the offers, unwilling to become bound to any faction by accepting its resources.
• Xu Fang found Chen Qing and brought him to meet her aunt, Xu Xiuhua.

Chen Qing refused Xu Xiuhua’s offer to become a Guard Captain, prompting her to order Lin Sheng to knock him out of the Martial Arts Examination. Chen Qing won his first combat duel against Yuan Tong, then watched the other arenas as startled cries erupted nearby.

• Xu Xiuhua offered Chen Qing a Guard Captain position in the Huang Family, but he declined and left.
• Xu Xiuhua scorned Chen Qing after he departed, while Xu Fang stayed behind.
• Chen Qing crossed paths with Qin Lie, who told companions that Chen Qing was withdrawn and suggested the combat round would test him.
• Xu Xiuhua instructed Lin Sheng to knock Chen Qing off the arena if he got the chance, and Lin Sheng agreed.
• Chen Qing defeated Yuan Tong in more than thirty exchanges, then stayed to observe the other matches.
• Startled cries erupted from a distant arena, and Chen Qing turned toward the noise.

After Qin Lie was carried away crippled, Chen Qing watched the Martial Arts Examination and concealed his lot number from Lin Sheng, who was trying to arrange a favorable match. The deception left Lin Sheng facing Mo Ziyu instead, just as Mo attacked him on the platform.

• Zhou Liang and Sun Shun carried the badly crippled Qin Lie away as the crowd watched.
• Chen Qing observed the bouts, learned that Lin Sheng served the Huang Family, and won three more matches by narrow margins.
• Lin Sheng asked Chen Qing for his lot number, and Chen Qing falsely told him A-6.
• Lin Sheng took the stage expecting to fight Chen Qing and taunted his supposed opponent.
• Mo Ziyu stepped onto the platform as Lin Sheng’s actual opponent, and Lin Sheng realized Chen Qing had tricked him.
• Mo Ziyu lunged at Lin Sheng with an iron fist.

Mo Ziyu crippled Lin Sheng after defeating him in the arena, and Chen Qing faced Han Rou in the next match. Chen Qing faked an injury after recoiling from Han Rou’s body odor, leaving Han Rou with an undeserved victory and the crowd praising her skills.

• Mo Ziyu broke both of Lin Sheng’s arms, pierced his waist, and won their match as the Huang Family carried Lin Sheng away.
• Chen Qing noticed Han Rou’s openings and began their arena match by exchanging attacks.
• Han Rou moved in close, but Chen Qing gagged at the odor beneath her arms and pretended her light strike had badly injured him.
• Chen Qing admitted defeat and left the arena, earning Han Rou the win and a Grade B+ result.
• The crowd praised Han Rou’s Bagua Palm while she burned with shame and resentment over the dishonorable victory.

After Qin Lie was badly injured by Gao Sheng in the Martial Arts Examination, Zhou Academy fell into a tense gloom while Chen Qing suspected the match had been politically arranged and resolved to grow stronger. As Qin Lie recovered in silence and Zheng Ziqiao mocked him, Chen Qing’s outstanding examination performance earned him the academy’s respect.

• Qi Wenhan told the returning disciples that Gao Sheng had beaten Qin Lie so severely that he remained unconscious, and Sun Shun suspected Songfeng Martial Arts School had targeted Zhou Academy.
• Chen Qing wondered whether Gao Sheng had been meant to target him and resolved to hide his trump cards and advance toward Transformation Force.
• Zheng Ziqiao mocked Qin Lie’s defeat, and Zhou Liang returned to the backyard before arguing with Master's Wife about caring for Qin Lie.
• After Qin Lie awakened, he remained gloomy and resentful, Luo Qian disappeared for several days, and Zheng Ziqiao continued ridiculing him.
• Chen Qing kept training, while the disciples increasingly treated him with respect because his Martial Arts Examination performance made becoming a Martial Scholar seem certain.

Chen Qing learned that Qin Lie’s injuries were severe, then discovered he had placed thirty-ninth in the Martial Arts Examination and passed as a Martial Scholar. News of the result spread to Firewood Fish Market, where neighbors mistakenly celebrated Chen Heng as the successful grandson and rushed to the Old Chen Family.

• Sun Shun told Chen Qing that Qin Lie’s tendons were severed and that healing him would require a rare Spirit Fish of Great Medicine.
• A messenger announced that Chen Qing had placed thirty-ninth and passed the Martial Arts Examination, prompting Zhou Academy’s disciples to congratulate him.
• Chen Qing followed Zhou Yu to meet Zhou Liang while keeping his thoughts on Qin Lie’s injuries and his own future plans.
• At the county yamen, Xiao Hai found Chen Qing’s name on the results list and ran to Firewood Fish Market with the news.
• Xiao Hai told Sister-in-law Lin and the neighbors that Old Master Chen’s grandson had passed, and the crowd mistakenly assumed Chen Heng was the Martial Scholar.

The Old Chen Family mistook the news of a Martial Scholar’s success for Chen Heng’s, only to learn that Chen Qing had passed the examination. Official Messengers announced Chen Qing’s achievement in Yazi Bay, where Madam Han and the neighbors celebrated as the family received tax and labor exemptions.

• Old He and the Firewood Fish Market neighbors rushed to congratulate Old Master Chen, believing Chen Heng had passed as a Martial Scholar.
• Second Aunt boasted about Chen Heng and offered Xiao Hai copper coins, but Xiao Hai announced that Chen Qing had passed instead.
• Xiao Hai confirmed that the examination list named Chen Qing of Yazi Bay, leaving Old Master Chen and Second Aunt stunned as the neighbors dispersed.
• An official clerk and two Official Messengers arrived at Yazi Bay and announced that Chen Qing had ranked seventh on the Rank C list.
• Madam Han welcomed the officials, while the neighbors congratulated her and knelt in celebration.
• The Official Messengers declared that Chen Qing’s household would be exempt from poll tax and corvée labor for two years and pay reduced taxes afterward, then departed with Madam Han’s gift.

Chen Qing learned about Transformation Force and received Zhou Liang’s Tongbei Fist Internal Force Fundamentals Diagram, then heard of upheaval among Gaolin County’s forces. Meanwhile, Zhou Liang promised to do everything he could to help Qin Lie recover from his severe injuries.

• Zhou Liang praised Chen Qing’s progress, explained the stages of Tongbei Fist, and demonstrated Transformation Force by shattering the inside of a wooden post from a distance.
• Zhou Liang gave Chen Qing the Tongbei Fist Internal Force Fundamentals Diagram and explained that Martial Champions could enter sects to learn Internal Cultivation.
• Chen Qing left the academy and heard from Old Li that Ning Shi had died and Wangyuan Escort Agency had suffered a devastating robbery after the Commandant was wounded.
• Mr. Sima prescribed medicine for Qin Lie, and Zhou Liang assured the desperate Qin Lie that he would do everything possible to help him recover.

After passing the Martial Arts Examination with high honors, Chen Qing visited the Chen Family Old Residence and made clear he would not be responsible for his relatives. At Wang's Cloth Shop, Wang Zhi removed Old Madam Wang and appointed Yang Huiniang as internal affairs steward, asking her to pass his regards to Brother Chen.

• Chen Qing told Madam Han he wanted to look for a house near the Zhou Family Martial Academy and decided to visit the Chen Family Old Residence.
• Chen Qing visited his grandfather and Second Uncle, but left without accepting their hospitality or taking back the rice flour and salted fish.
• Old Master Chen recognized that Chen Qing was drawing a line and warned his family not to trouble him for help.
• Old Madam Wang pressured Yang Huiniang to marry her foolish grandson and threatened to keep her working in the dyeing workshop.
• Wang Zhi ordered guards to remove Old Madam Wang, dismissed her from the cloth shop, and appointed Yang Huiniang internal affairs steward.
• Wang Zhi asked Yang Huiniang to convey his regards to Brother Chen, prompting the workers to wonder whether he meant her martial-arts cousin.

Chen Qing chose and bought a courtyard house near Zhou Academy, arranging to pay most of its price later. After learning the Tiger Gang had been wiped out, he met the newly arrived Fish Market overseer Song Hu and recognized a possible connection between him and the gang’s destruction, then pursued him.

• Chen Qing viewed a courtyard on Changping Street and agreed to buy it for three hundred taels, paying one hundred up front and owing the rest until next spring.
• Chen Qing returned to Yazi Bay, where Madam Han told him the Tiger Gang had been slaughtered and its boats and shacks destroyed.
• Chen Qing signed the house contract and decided to move with Madam Han that afternoon.
• Song Hu offered Chen Qing five taels and questioned him about the Tiger Gang’s massacre.
• Chen Qing recalled that Song Tie had mentioned the name A'hu and suspected Song Hu was testing him, so he hurried after him.

Song Hu suspected Chen Qing of killing Song Tie and planned to hire Old Constable Liu to investigate, but Chen Qing ambushed him and his two subordinates. Chen Qing killed all three, took a leather scroll from Song Hu, and disappeared into the alley.

• Song Hu connected Chen Qing's rise in martial arts to the murder of Song Tie and decided to lie low before hiring Old Constable Liu to investigate.
• Chen Qing ambushed Song Hu and his two subordinates in a secluded alley, killing the first two men before Song Hu could respond.
• Song Hu fought back, but Chen Qing overwhelmed him with Hidden Strength and killed him with a blow to the chest.
• Chen Qing searched the three corpses, took a leather scroll from Song Hu, mangled the bodies, and vanished into the shadows.

Chen Qing moved with Madam Han into a spacious home and acquired the internal-strengthening technique Toad Catching Strength. At Zhou Academy, he learned Qin Lie's severed major tendons were healing, though he suspected something was amiss.

• Chen Qing and Madam Han packed their belongings and moved into a house near the academy.
• Chen Qing examined Song Hu's Toad Catching Strength scroll, learned its three realms, and saw that he had reached beginner progress in it.
• Chen Qing swallowed a Blood Vitality Pill and practiced Tongbei at Zhou Academy, gaining progress three times faster than usual.
• Song Yufeng told Chen Qing that Mr. Sima of Qing Nang Hall had prescribed a remedy that was healing Qin Lie's major tendons.
• Chen Qing confirmed the news with Sun Shun, noticed Zheng Ziqiao watching the backyard, and wondered whether Qin Lie's tendons had truly healed.

After the Martial Arts Examination, Ke Yunqi offered Chen Qing a dangerous full-time post, but Chen Qing declined and accepted a better-paid part-time appointment instead. On his way home, he considered ways to earn money and dismissed a stall owner’s claims about a battered booklet.

• Ke Yunqi summoned Chen Qing and offered him a formal River Bureau Inspector post, including responsibility for the dangerous Blackstone Shoal.
• Chen Qing declined the inspector position by claiming he lacked the skill for its responsibilities, so Ke Yunqi appointed him a part-time River Commissioner with triple the monthly salary.
• Cheng Ming told Chen Qing that his subsidy might be delayed because the clan was struggling with business and expenses.
• Chen Qing walked through the busy streets, observed martial academies, medicine halls, and Blade Hunters, and considered how to make money.
• A stall owner tried to convince Chen Qing that a battered booklet might hold a hidden secret, but Chen Qing left without buying it.

Chen Qing continued his demanding cultivation as Zhou Academy’s prestige waned, while Liu Ze proposed marriage to Zhou Yu and she refused until Liu Nianbo achieved his third breakthrough. Meanwhile, the Cheng Family learned the Wu Family had killed two of their retainers and demanded a final contest for Niangniang Temple Wharf, leaving them to rely on the recovering Jiang Yang.

• Chen Qing trained relentlessly for over two months, steadily advancing his Tongbei Stance Practice and other skills despite his limited aptitude.
• Liu Ze visited Zhou Academy with Liu Nianbo to propose marriage to Zhou Yu, who declined until Liu Nianbo succeeded in his third breakthrough.
• Chen Qing suspected Liu Ze had chosen this moment to propose because Zhou Liang’s Closed-Door Disciple had been crippled.
• Cheng Huan and Cheng Ming identified the bodies of Jiang Han and Pang Shuhua and learned Tian Yaozong had killed them.
• The Wu Family gave the Cheng Family half a month to abandon Niangniang Temple Wharf or settle ownership through a fist duel.
• With the Cheng Family’s remaining fighters weak and the Xue Family unwilling to help, Cheng Huan and Cheng Ming decided to ask the still-recovering Jiang Yang to fight.

After Jiang Yang refused to fight Tian Yaozong, Chen Qing volunteered to represent the Cheng Family in a life-and-death fist duel over Niangniang Temple Wharf. The duel began with Chen Qing and Tian Yaozong facing off on the platform.

• Cheng Ming told Jiang Yang that the Wu Family had demanded a fist duel, but Jiang Yang cited his lingering injuries and refused to fight Tian Yaozong.
• Cheng Ming explained Jiang Yang's refusal to Chen Qing and warned that the Cheng Family might have to reduce its support, so Chen Qing volunteered for the duel.
• Cheng Ming shared what he knew about Tian Yaozong's Mountain Breaker Hand, and Chen Qing studied a combat manual of its basic moves for two days.
• Chen Qing arrived at Niangniang Temple Wharf, where Wu Manqing and Tian Yaozong waited beneath the Wu Family's awning.
• After the life-and-death contract was confirmed, Tian Yaozong and Chen Qing took their places on the platform, and the fist duel began.

Chen Qing and Tian Yaozong fought a deadly, evenly matched battle on the shattered arena platform. Chen Qing seized an opening, broke Tian Yaozong’s arm, and clamped his throat, leaving Tian Yaozong’s fate in his hands.

• Tian Yaozong opened with the Wind-breaking Hand, but Chen Qing countered his strikes and evaded his killing moves.
• Chen Qing and Tian Yaozong exchanged dozens of blows, leaving the arena platform shattered as spectators watched in alarm.
• Tian Yaozong unleashed a relentless assault that drove Chen Qing backward and seemed to leave him with nowhere to retreat.
• Chen Qing narrowly slipped beneath Tian Yaozong’s elbow and shifted aside as Tian Yaozong’s punch struck his shoulder.
• Chen Qing seized Tian Yaozong’s right elbow, twisted his arm until its tendon snapped and bone pierced through, then clamped his throat with White Ape Severs Throat.

Chen Qing defeated Tian Yaozong in the fist match, securing victory for the Cheng Family while leaving Tian near death. After the Wu Family departed, Cheng Ming identified Zhu Lian'er as a Songfeng Martial Arts School disciple who had tried to provoke Chen Qing while he was weakened, and Chen Qing prepared to face her.

• Chen Qing shattered Tian Yaozong's throat with a killing move, and Wu Manqing ordered her guards to rush Tian to a clinic.
• The Cheng Family celebrated as the judges declared them winners, while the Wu Family accepted its defeat and left with Tian Yaozong.
• Zhu Lian'er confronted Chen Qing and accused him of fighting viciously, but Wu Manqing stopped her and apologized to Chen Qing.
• Cheng Ming warned Chen Qing that Zhu Lian'er was a disciple of Songfeng Martial Arts School and had likely hoped to exploit his injuries to make a name for herself.
• Chen Qing connected Zhu Lian'er's challenge to the feud between Songfeng Martial Arts School and Zhou Academy and resolved not to underestimate her.

After Chen Qing defeated Tian Yaozong and saved the Cheng Family, the family rewarded him while Jiang Yang planned to repair his reputation by befriending him. The next morning, Chen Qing practiced Toad Catching Strength and considered how to advance his martial arts before the Martial Arts Examination.

• Cheng Huan arranged for Chen Qing to return home and ordered three hundred taels of silver, twenty top-grade Blood Vitality Pills, and triple his monthly stipend sent to him.
• Jiang Yang learned that Chen Qing had killed Tian Yaozong and decided to send Chen Qing a generous gift to preserve his standing with the Cheng Family and avoid making an enemy.
• Chen Qing practiced Toad Breath, the foundation of Toad Catching Strength, and felt its Internal Force temper his organs.
• Chen Qing sensed that Toad Catching Strength held deeper mysteries and resolved to improve his techniques in preparation for the Martial Arts Examination.

Chen Qing received rewards for defending the Cheng Family and learned the Zhu Clan had visited his master, then continued training until his Toad Catching Strength reached the second realm. When Gao Sheng failed his first attempt to break through to Transformation Force, Zhou Academy’s disciples felt temporary relief but worried about their own prospects.

• Chen Qing received three hundred taels and twenty Blood Vitality Pills from the Cheng Family, along with three pills from Jiang Yang.
• Song Yufeng told Chen Qing that the Zhu Clan had visited their master, then said he planned to attempt a breakthrough soon.
• Over three months, Chen Qing trained daily and advanced his Toad Catching Strength to the second realm as Zhou Academy lost several disciples, including Qi Wenhan.
• A disciple announced that Gao Sheng of Songfeng Martial Arts School was attempting to break through to Transformation Force, alarming Zhou Academy.
• Luo Qian sent a disciple to investigate, and he returned with news that Gao Sheng’s breakthrough attempt had failed.
• Sun Shun and the other Hidden Strength disciples worried that they might never reach Transformation Force.

Liu Ze demonstrated Transformation Force to Liu Nianbo and explained what Liu Nianbo needed to improve to reach it. At Zhou Liang’s academy, Chen Qing and Sun Shun learned that Qin Lie was unlikely to recover, while Qin Lie’s humiliation and resentment deepened after Luo Qian rejected him and Zhou Yu kept her distance.

• Liu Nianbo asked Liu Ze about his chances of reaching Transformation Force, and Liu Ze urged him to improve enough to enter the Martial Arts Examination’s A List.
• Liu Ze let Liu Nianbo strike his chest and explained how Transformation Force redirected an opponent’s force without blocking head-on.
• Zhou Liang tested Chen Qing and Sun Shun, noting that Chen Qing still had two acupoints to open and that Sun Shun needed years to recover from his failed attempt to knock at the gate.
• Zhou Liang told Chen Qing and Sun Shun that Qin Lie’s injury had stopped improving and that he might recover only to the state of an ordinary person.
• Qin Lie brooded over Luo Qian’s rejection and loss of financial support, then accused Zhou Yu of becoming distant before she pulled away from him.